When Love Changes You: Chapter 3: Comfort
Damon insisted she spend the night at his house. Putting her in one of the guest rooms he checked in on her before he finally drunk himself into a stupor.
When he woke up the next morning his head pounded unmercifully. It didn't help that his phone was ringing nonstop next to his bed. Grabbing the annoying objective he put it up to his ear and winced at once hearing the shrieking voice on the other end.
"Oh my God! I've been trying to get a hold of you all morning." Caroline shouted.
"What time is it?" Damon set up in the bed and all at once regretted it. His stomach wasn't feeling too hot. He just prayed he could make it to at hot shower before he got sick. This wasn't his first hangover. He had a routine that would help him feel better within the hour but first he needed to get off of this miserable phone call.
"It's ten o'clock. I heard the news this morning. I was exercising and watching the news when they reported a private plane owned by the Salvatores went down over the Atlantic ocean. They don't believe there is any survivors but they are searching. Are you okay?"
Damon wanted to yell at her that she had a sucky way of informing him of his brother's possible death.
"I'm fine. I need...to...get a shower." He mumbled.
"Oh. Sorry. Oh and one more thing Jenna is looking for Elena. Did she spend the night over there?" Caroline's voice border lined on jealousy as she asked about her friend.
"Yeah she did. I need to go check in on her. She was pretty upset last night."
"Okay. I will be over later. Sorry Damon. I know how much you loved your brother." Caroline sighed heavily.
Well, he had a funny way of showing it he thought rudely to himself.
"Bye Caroline." Damon hung up the phone and forced his legs to move. He slowly made his way to the shower and felt some relief the moment the hot water pulsated on his achy body.
A half an hour later he was dressed and taken several aspirins before he walked down the hall to check on Elena. Tapping on the door, he didn't receive any response so he crack the door to peek in. He saw her still lying in the bed with her back toward the door.
Stepping into the room he was able to make out a soft sobbing sound. He realized she was awake and trying to cry softly so no one would hear her. Walking around the king size bed he saw her face as tears spilled out of her eyes.
"Hey." Damon spoke softly as he knelt down beside the bed and wiped away a drop of moisture from her tear stained cheek.
"Hey." She mumbled, not moving even an inch as she continue to stare off into space.
"We should get up and get some food in you and I will start making some more calls." He offered.
"Why?" Elena sobbed miserably.
"He could still be alive Elena. Don't give up hope yet." He pleaded with her.
Elena shifted and set up in the bed abruptly.
"His plane crashed over an ocean. How in the world could he have managed to survive that? It's impossible." She cried out angrily.
"We don't have all the details. Come on let's gets going."
Damon was trying to encourage her without sounding too harsh. He knew it was easy to think the worse when they had little to no details about the crash but he wasn't about to throw in the towel just yet.
"It's all my fault." She smack the mattress and glared furiously at him.
"How is this your fault?"
"I..we...yesterday before I came over we got into an argument. I told him that I wasn't sure if this was going to work out. He told me he loved me and he would find away to come see me right away. I pushed him to get on that plane."
"Honey, there is no way you could have known that the plane would crash. He should have come home a long time ago. You had every reason to be upset with him for neglecting you." Damon reached out and push her hair behind her ears.
"Damon we k...kissed. We betrayed him." Her voice crackled.
"That didn't cause the crash either. Let's not focus on blame right now. Let's just go downstairs and get something in our stomachs and find out more information before we jump the gun. Please Elena."
Damon hoped she would forget all about their moment of weakness. He didn't want her to think their kiss and Stefan's crash were somehow cosmically connected.
"Okay." Elena gulped hard, taking his hand as he helped her out of the bed and led her downstairs.
"You should call your Aunt while I cook us up something to eat. Caroline woke me up and mentioned your Aunt was worried about you."
Elena pulled out her phone from her purse and looked at the missed messages and began to reply back to each of them while Damon started a pot of coffee and then off to work on them both a cheese omelette.
After they both filled up on food and coffee they received a call from Edward.
"Damon. I have terrible news. They located the plane. They only found the body of the two pilots aboard. They were killed instantly when the plane crashed into the ocean. However, they can't seem to find Stefan or Rebecca at the moment. So they are continuing their search for them."
"Rebecca?" Damon stepped out of the kitchen as his nostrils flared. He couldn't imagine why in the world Rebecca would have been on that plane with his brother. The last time they spoke he insisted he had not once seen or heard from his ex girlfriend. This was not something he wanted to tell nor explain to Elena. She was already upset enough about the possible death of Stefan and he couldn't stand the thought of how she would react if she learned that he was with his ex-girlfriend on the plane.
"Your father asked her to join Stefan for a meeting. She knew several of the businessman's wives and he thought she might help make things smoother for Stefan. Your father thinks they might have somehow had time to jump out of the plane before it crashed. There is evidence that it's possible."
Damon chewed on his lip as he recalled both his brother and Rebecca took skydiving lessons and so it was possible they might have just enough time to escape before the plane crashed into the ocean.
"What happened exactly? Was it bad weather? Faulty plane part?" Damon still couldn't understand how a million dollar plane would have fallen from the sky.
"They are retrieving the black box and we should know something within the next twenty-four hours. Your father is beside himself. Maybe you should come and see him during this time." Edward suggested.
"I'm sorry I can't. Elena is too upset and if he hadn't schemed back into Stefan's life then he would have never been on that damn plane in the first place." Damon snarled.
"I see. Well, I will call you back once I learn more."
"Okay and thanks." Damon replied.
Hanging up the phone he walked back into the kitchen where Elena sat in her chair with her head hung low.
"He's dead isn't he?" She looked up at him with eyes that broke his heart into a million pieces.
"Actually they think he might have had enough time to jump from the plane. They are still searching for him." Damon decided not to mention the Rebecca part just yet. He hoped he would have time to explain that situation later once they knew Stefan was alive and safe.
"What?" Elena frowned up at him.
"Stefan took skydiving lessons when he turned eighteen. It was something our father disapproved of so he was forced to wait until he was considered an adult to do it." Damon smirked as he remembered how furious their father was when he learned of it.
"So your saying there is a slim chance he's alive."
"Exactly. Slim is better than none." Damon smiled softly at her.
"What can we do?" Elena chewed on her lip as she considered how she could help with the search.
"Honestly, we have to sit and wait. Let the professionals handle this."
Damon saw the stubborn look cross her face and knew she wasn't going to give up so easily.
"We could finish with your wedding plans. When they find him then you two should get married right away." He suggested. He seriously hated the idea of them getting married but he knew it would keep her mind off of the situation.
"I can't even think about the wedding. Not now." Elena gulped hard.
"Why not?"
"He could be dead right now. I would look foolish trying to work out details of a day I'm never going to have with him." Elena burst out into tears as Damon stepped over and wrapped his arms around her.
Kissing the top of her head he whispered softly to her.
"Never say never."
Elena continued to sob in his arms as she heard a little voice in the back of her head warning her that perhaps she fell in love with the wrong brother and this was fate's way of making it right.
XXX
Two days later...
"I really think it's best to put the wedding on hold for now." Jenna sighed heavily as she looked around the table at Elena's closest friends.
"What does Elena want to do?" Caroline asked curiously.
"She doesn't know what to do, really. She feels it's bad taste to plan for it, just in case he didn't make it. On the other hand she insists that if he is found she doesn't even want a big wedding. She just wants to rush him to the courthouse and get married right away." Jenna replied.
"I hate to see all her hard work wasted but on the other hand I can see why she would rather make it official right away. Has she left her room today?" Bonnie spoke up.
"Yeah. Damon seems to be the only one she will allow to get her up and out of the house."
"He is trying to keep her mind off of it." Caroline chewed on the corner of her lip as she caught the suspicion in Bonnie's eyes.
"I'm sure he is." Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"He is trying to hold himself together and helping Elena helps him do that." Caroline looked between them and saw that like Bonnie, Jenna seem to wonder about the closeness between her boyfriend and best friend.
"I'm sure you're right." Jenna smiled politely at her.
"I am." Caroline grabbed her keys and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked.
"I have to run some errands for my mom and then do some work on a paper due next week." Caroline nodded at them before taking off.
"What's going on?" Jenna looked at Bonnie directly in the eyes.
"I just...it's probably nothing but I think..." Bonnie paused, taking a deep breath before continuing."I think they have grown fond of one another and Caroline refuses to see it."
"What? Come on they are friends now cause he stepped in and helped her with the wedding but I don't think there is anything more to them." Jenna laughed nervously.
"I hope your right." Bonnie sipped on her soda and looked out the window with a weary look.
XXX
A week later...
"You will get up and go with me." Damon growled pulling Elena out of the bed and on her bare feet.
"Why? I don't want to go anywhere. What's the point." She argued.
"The point is that you have to keep moving forward Elena." Damon replied softly as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled warmly at her.
"I don't want to move forward. I want ...I want...Stefan back." Elena's face crumpled up as tears streamed down her face.
"You will get him back. YOU have to stay positive." Damon pleaded as he pulled her into his chest and let her sob all over his clean pressed shirt.
"I try too but...some nights...I dream of him." She mumbled in his chest.
"They still have hope that he might have somehow landed on one of those unknown islands close to where the plane crashed. My father hasn't given up hope on his rescue and you shouldn't either." Damon lifted her head up and stared into her red stained eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm sure you are tired of watching me cry." Elena felt the warmth of his body as it soak into her cold arms and she felt her heart skip an extra beat when his tongue darted out licking his lips. She was a horrible person but being this physically close to Damon set off a spark in the pit of her stomach. Her body ached for something that she didn't quite understand. It was like standing in the front of a refrigerator stocked with food but your taste buds didn't seem to want any of it. Damon was like that craving. She wanted him close to her but yet she didn't. It was wrong to want him like that.
Pulling away she wrapped her arms around her chest. Turning slowly she tiptoed to the end of the bed and covered herself with her housecoat. The seasons were changing and Autumn was starting to show signs everywhere and that made the house a little cooler. She nearly forgot she wore her silky top PJs to bed and was sure her nipples were poking through the soft material.
"I don't mind. I want to help you anyway I can." Damon answered. His voice was soft and husky. It made her shiver. She could only imagine what it would sound like when he was in the thrust of passion.
"I appreciate it."
Elena walked out of the room, heading to the kitchen for a quick cup of coffee to warm her up and hopefully wake her up while he followed right behind her.
"Want some?" Elena offered pulling out two mugs.
"Sure."
Elena poured them both a cup and sat down at the table while she added a spoonful of sugar with a dash of her favorite creamer in it.
"Mmm...needed this." Elena yawned, stretching her arms over her head.
"What are your plans today?" He asked while he enjoyed watching her morning routine as he had the last three days in a row.
He couldn't seem to stay away. There was plenty of work to be done at his office but he didn't care about any of that. No, instead he found himself counting down the minutes until he could see her. He tried to give her plenty of space to be around her friends and family but it was becoming difficult to stay away for more than a few hours at a time.
Caroline mentioned how he was always at Elena's side and he wasn't starting to pick up the signs that she was growing aware of his deep feelings for her best friend. He didn't want to hurt Caroline but he didn't see them having much of a future, especially now that these feelings for Elena were starting to surface.
The kiss they shared before this nightmare begun, played over and over in his mind when he tried to sleep at night. He longed for more. He knew it was morbid and even downright rude that he wanted to make love to his possibly dead brother's fiancee. He didn't want to feel this way but he couldn't shake the hold she had over him.
"I don't know. What about you? Caroline mentioned last night that you two haven't done anything together and she is really worried about you."
Damon gulped hard. He didn't know how he was going to break things off with Caroline but he knew he had to do it soon. What would Elena think about him? Would she be angry that he hurt her best friend? Would she understand that his heart just didn't love her enough to keep her around?
"I know. I'm sorry but I really don't know how to tell her that I don't think I want to be with her anymore." Damon looked down at his cup after dropping the bomb.
"What? Why not?" Elena cried out.
"It's just...well...you know when you asked me before if I thought about marrying her and I said we weren't anywhere close to that." He looked up at her.
Elena nodded her head in response.
"I don't see the point of us being together. I should go crazy when we are apart but I don't. I like her and I enjoy our friendship but other than that, I just don't feel anything deeper."
Elena looked down at her cup and then took a long drink before getting up and pouring them both a refill.
"I love Caroline and want her happiness but if you don't think it's love that you feel for her then you can't lead her on. It's going to kill her. She is crazy about you." Elena admitted.
"I know. That's what really sucks about it. It would make the break easier if she had someone else or didn't feel much for me."
"When are you going to do it?" Elena chewed on the corner of her lip.
"I don't know." he sighed heavily.
"Don't wait too long." She reached over the table and covered his hand with hers.
Damon looked up and they both shared a tender smile when the house phone rang.
Elena jump up in alert mode and snatch the phone up.
"Hello." She swallowed hard.
She was still living in a dream world where she hoped a call would come to inform her they found Stefan safe and alive.
"Hey Elena. It's Jenna. I'm not going to be home this weekend. I'm sorry hon. My boss called and I have to go on a quick trip out of town for work. Will you be okay?"
"Oh. Sure." Elena replied.
"You should call Bonnie or Caroline over to spend some girl time together." Jenna offered.
"Maybe." Elena wrinkled her nose up at the thought of having a sleepover like when they were in High School. She treasured her friendships with Bonnie and Caroline but right now she just wanted some space. They would try so hard to put her in a better mood that it would ultimately just irk her.
"Don't stay in bed, locked up in your room all weekend." Jenna warned her.
"I won't. Damon is here and we were talking about going out here in a bit." She partially lied.
"Oh, okay. I love you hon. I will be home as soon as I can."
Elena said good-bye before hanging up and sitting back in her seat.
"What was that about?" Damon asked.
"Oh, Jenna has to go out of town with her boss. I got the house to myself all weekend." Elena replied sadly.
"You don't need to be alone. Why did you tell her we were going out?"
"I know and I didn't want her to worry about me." Elena cracked a smile.
"Then let's not make it a lie and let's go hang out. A ride out in the country with some fresh air might do us both some good." He offered.
"I..we...well..." Elena debated if being alone with Damon was such a good idea. Her heart was split down the middle between the life she saw herself having with Stefan and the passion that Damon made her feel whenever he was near.
"Come on. Go get dressed. I'm in the mood for some wine. Maybe we can find a cozy B & B on our journey for some fine cuisine while we drive until our hearts are content."
Elena liked the thought of having a day away from the house and everyone else in the community. Neighbors, friends, and anyone else she bumped into was always offering her their condolences and it made her feel like they had already pretty much gave up on the idea of Stefan returning to her. She couldn't bear another day of those sympathetic looks. Taking a break from her house and Mystic Falls sounded appealing.
"Okay." Elena got up and went upstairs leaving Damon to plan their day together.
Damon made a couple of calls after checking his blackberry for some directions and locations that might be fitting for a day out with her. He knew it would probably seem tacky to most people that they needed a vacation from the dreaded awaited phone call letting them know if Stefan was alive or not. However, until they were in his shoes they wouldn't understand and frankly he didn't give a damn about other's opinions about himself but he did about Elena's reputation. She was loved and admired in the community and he didn't want to do anything to taint it.
Twenty minutes later she reappeared in the kitchen wearing clothes, hair brushed, and a smile that melted his heart. He just prayed that the years of self restraint paid off today. The dark side of him wanted to set up the day to end up with them sharing a bed later that night but the better side of him warn him to let her take the pace she needed. If Stefan was indeed lost to the both of them then seducing her was a whole other matter but until they knew one way or the other he needed to embrace his good side.
"Thank you Damon. I really need this." Elena reach out and grab his hand giving it a quick squeeze.
"Me too." He gulped hard as he follow her out of the house.
XXX
A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story. Sorry for the delay with this chpt. Let me know if I should continue or stop wasting my time. Xoxo A